Sakuya struck first, his body turning into a black afterimage. His extreme speed left several remnants in the void as he swung the long, narrow black saber.
Moon Piercer!
A white slash hundreds of meters long, seemingly condensed from moonlight, slashed toward Madara's Susanoo with a sharp whistle that tore through space.
Madara's eyes narrowed, and he controlled his Susanoo to unleash a slash.
Bang!
The two slashes collided and eventually vanished.
Madara was internally surprised. 'What a powerful slash.'
At the same time, Sengan launched an attack on Hashirama. He raised his hand to activate Bansho Ten'in, and several massive meteorites with diameters of a hundred meters were instantly drawn in by the powerful gravity, forming a cluster in front of him.
Sengan gave a low shout, and his massive fist, carrying the force of a thousand tons, smashed into the foremost meteorite.
Boom!
The meteorite flew toward Hashirama like a cannonball.
Hashirama's hands quickly formed seals as green Chakra surged out.
Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!
Countless thick wooden vines grew wildly from the meteorite. The vines intertwined into a massive three-dimensional wooden net, intercepting and pulverizing the incoming meteorites. As debris flew, the wooden net vibrated slightly.
Without giving Hashirama a moment to breathe, Sengan opened a spatial portal and instantly traveled behind him, his massive fist striking with the power to distort space.
Alarm bells rang in Hashirama's mind, and he hastily dodged to the side. The fist hit empty air, yet its immense power caused ripples to spread across the meteorite's surface.
On the other side, the battle between Madara andu Sakuya grew more intense.
Sakuya moved as nimbly as a phantom. As he swung his black saber, waves of Moon Piercer came one after another. The slashes were as dense as raindrops, with tricky and varied angles—sometimes vertical, sometimes diagonal, and even capable of changing trajectory via the blade's rotation.
Madara controlled his Susanoo to counter-attack. Blue and white slashes constantly collided, erupting in dazzling light, while spatial cracks appeared and were quickly repaired.
"Interesting. This saber technique is worth praising."
A defiant smile appeared on Madara's lips as he made his Susanoo leap up, the long saber in its hand suddenly growing in power.
Susanoo: Mountain-Cleaving Blade!
Golden slash poured down like a waterfall, its range far exceeding before, as it crushed toward Sakuya.
Sakuya didn't dodge. He swung his black saber vertically.
Black Moon Slayer!
A black slash suddenly erupted, as dark and deep as a black hole. It not only precisely blocked the golden slash but also swept toward Madara.
This black slash was highly devouring, constantly absorbing stray cosmic energy along the way, growing larger and its aura more terrifying.
Madara was startled and controlled his Susanoo to open its mouth and launch Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation. The massive pillar of fire, like a torrent of lava, crashed into the black slash, only to be instantly swallowed. The fire's energy actually became nourishment for the black slash, making it grow even larger.
"This slash can actually devour energy?" Madara's expression turned solemn.
Throne of the Dark Night!
Sakuya took the opportunity to unleash a Shinjutsu. Black energy instantly spread, forming a massive dark space a thousand meters in diameter, enveloping both Madara and himself.
Inside the space, it was pitch black. All sound was completely absorbed, and even Chakra fluctuations were suppressed. Madara's vision and hearing were entirely stripped away, he could only rely on his years of combat experience to barely judge his opponent's position.
"Hmph, you think such a petty trick can trap me."
The Chakra around Madara suddenly erupted, as he tried to break through the dark space with a Chakra shockwave. But the space was exceptionally sturdy, its surface covered in fine black runes. No matter how he struck it, it remained unmoved, instead absorbing a portion of the Chakra he released.
Madara felt a surge of annoyance. "Damn, I was a bit too arrogant. This space can actually absorb Chakra."
In the darkness, Sakuya's figure moved like a ghost. Relying on the sensing advantage of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki's Chakra, he accurately locked onto Madara's position, his black saber repeatedly stabbing at the Susanoo's weak points.
As Sakuya's attack arrived, the Susanoo's shoulder and chest armor were continuously damaged.
Fortunately, Madara had rich combat experience, and his timely counterattack forced the opponent away, though he gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Even more troublesome was the opponent's super-speed regeneration. Madara's slash had severed his arm during the counterattack, but it healed and grew a new arm instantly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Sakuya felt the grip of his new arm, which was no different from before, and said indifferently, "Your attacks are ineffective against me."
On the other side, the battlefield between Hashirama and Sengan was equally intense.
Sengan activated a gravity field Shinjutsu.
Gravity Crush!
The gravity around Hashirama instantly surged dozens of times over, becoming incredibly heavy, even affecting the flow of his Chakra.
Sengan seized the opportunity, controlling several thousand-meter giant meteors to smash down simultaneously, while also activating Shinra Tensei. Repulsive force erupted from his palm, accelerating the meteor cluster to a momentum comparable to an asteroid impact.
Hashirama took a deep breath, forcibly channeling the Chakra of the God Tree within his body, and quickly formed hand seals.
Six Paths: Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
Countless massive wooden arms emerged from the void, each as thick as a towering tree, entwined with golden Six Paths Chakra, standing before him like continuous mountain ranges, crushing all the meteors.
Wood chips and meteor fragments scattered and flew, forming a small dust cloud in the Universe.
Subsequently, the wooden arms seized the opportunity to grab toward Sengan, dozens of arms forming a pincer movement, blocking all of Sengan's evasion routes.
Sengan, however, showed no fear. Chakra surged around him, and a layer of earthy yellow Chakra armor appeared on his body, resisting the grasp of the wooden arms.
Crack!
The thousand-meter-long wooden arms were actually pried open by him by brute force.
At the same time, he raised his hand and threw a Truth-Seeking Orb, carrying destructive energy. The Truth-Seeking Orb spun and instantly pierced through several wooden arms, flying toward Hashirama.
Hashirama dodged to the side, and the Truth-Seeking Orb grazed his shoulder, blowing a meteor behind him to pieces.
Sengan took the chance to rush forward, his massive fist striking toward Hashirama. Hashirama hurriedly controlled two wooden arms to cross in a block.
Crack!!!
The wooden arms were broken by a single punch, and Hashirama was shaken.
The four fought inextricably in the Universe, the light of their energy collisions interweaving, even illuminating the surrounding meteors.
Sakuya's offensive became increasingly violent, black slashes pouring down like dense rain, each slash carrying a strange power.
Madara could only struggle to control his Susanoo to parry with its blade, being forced back step by step, completely falling into the predicament of passive defense.
The ear-piercing sound of slash grazing the Susanoo armor was continuous. Every collision made Madara's arms go numb. This was the first time he had been suppressed so miserably.
Seeing this from a distance, Shun, as if he had already seen through the future, spoke in a somewhat teasing tone, "Madara, show some of that spirit from when you dominated the Ninja World. You can't even handle this much? Put some effort into it."
These words were like a spark, instantly igniting the pride in Madara's heart. He threw his head back and let out a roar, the Chakra around him suddenly surging.
"First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open!"
"Second Gate... Third Gate... Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder, Open!"
Blue steam erupted from his body like lava, scorching the surrounding space until it slightly distorted.
Madara's figure instantly vanished within the steam, reappearing in front of Sakuya, his fist smashing down with world-destroying power.
Relying on the ultimate power of the Eight Gates, he reversed the battle, launching a storm-like beating on Sakuya. Punches, knee strikes, and elbow strikes landed on Sakuya continuously, each hit shaking Sakuya's body violently.
Had he not possessed the super-speed regeneration of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, Sakuya would likely have been killed by this fierce onslaught.
Just as this extremely violent battle of offense and defense fell into a stalemate, and Sakuya's regeneration speed began to show a slight delay—
Sengan suddenly turned his head sharply, his gaze penetrating the energy turbulence of the battlefield, locking onto the battered Sakuya.
In those silver-white pupils, a flash of absolute, burning loyalty appeared.
"For the glory of the Otsutsuki! For victory! Sakuya-sama, please receive my power!"
Sengan's voice, carrying a resolve for mutual destruction, echoed throughout the battlefield.
He knocked Madara aside and rushed to Sakuya, then decomposed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Chakra overflowed from his body, quickly gathering and compressing in the air, finally condensing into a blood-red Chakra fruit.
This fruit emitted dense and pure energy fluctuations, as if it were alive, and flew precisely into Sakuya's hand.
Sakuya, who had been somewhat disheveled by Madara's fierce attack, felt the pure energy coming from the Chakra fruit in his hand, and a flash of wild joy and ruthlessness instantly crossed his eyes.
He looked at the Chakra fruit before him, exchanged for his companion's life, opened his mouth, and swallowed it.
"For the glory of the Otsutsuki, I feel your power. Sengan, your sacrifice is meaningful."
An even more powerful Chakra instantly erupted from Sakuya's body. His figure grew slightly larger, his muscle lines became more pronounced, and the light in his eyes grew sharper, even beginning to distort the surrounding starlight. Even the distant meteors trembled slightly from this Chakra.
After his strength surged, Sakuya's aura fluctuations were several times stronger than before.